Join the Conversation

25-year-old SIA unveils 2015 Legacy

Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., celebrated the start of production of the 2015 Subaru Legacy at the Lafayette, Ind. plant. Executive Vice President Tom Easterday is excited about the new safety features, and the average 30 mpg fuel efficiency.

Chris Morisse Vizza, cvizza@jconline.com
8:50 p.m. EDT June 16, 2014

To applause from associates who built it, a 2015 Subaru Legacy rolls off the assembly line Monday at Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. in Lafayette.
(Photo:
Photo provided
)

The automaker two weeks ago celebrated the start of production of the redesigned 2015 Outback, which has a footprint similar to the previous model but features improved aerodynamics and stability, increased fuel efficiency and more interior space.

Changing the production lines to handle the new designs is a meticulous, multiyear process, Easterday said.

Two or three years before production of a new model begins, associates from the SIA plant go to Japan.

"We have to look at how to make it easy to build, ergonomically for our associates, and efficiently," Easterday said.

The company manufactures new dies for the stamping machines, and new robots are required to accommodate the different dimensions.

New manufacturing equipment is installed in open spaces in the production lines during winter and summer shutdowns, then tested.

"It's a six-month to one-year process of installation and testing and teaching," Easterday said.

"Two weeks ago we literally went from building the old Outback to building the new Outback in a matter of hours."

By 2016 or 2017, designers in Japan, and employees at the Subaru research and design facility in Ann Arbor, Mich., will begin drafting the next generation of changes.